STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY PARTNERING DURING THE 1980S - TRENDS, NETWORKS AND CORPORATE PATTERNS IN NON-CORE TECHNOLOGIES

The growth of the number of inter-firm strategic technology alliances during the 1980s has led to considerable attention to this phenomenon in recent years. In this paper an attempt is made to understand not on ly basic trends in the growth of inter-firm cooperation in sectors suc h as chemicals, aviation/defence, automotive and heavy electrical equi pment, but also to reveal the role played by a large group of cooperat ing companies. The research is based on a large databank with informat ion on thousands of alliances and their participating companies. Throu gh statistical analysis it is possible to identify the major players w ithin these sectors. The analysis enables us to recognize the major in ternational networks of inter-firm alliances, the changes over time an d different positions taken by world leading companies.